"Memphis," "Wicked" top Broadway/San Diego lineup

"Addams Family," "Rock of Ages" also hitting town in 2011-12 season

The Tony Award-winning musical "Memphis," whose Broadway production was developed at La Jolla Playhouse in 2008, returns to town next year as part of Broadway/San Diego's touring-show season.
— Joan Marcus

The Tony Award-winning musical "Memphis," whose Broadway production was developed at La Jolla Playhouse in 2008, returns to town next year as part of Broadway/San Diego's touring-show season.
/ Joan Marcus

When it comes to Broadway/San Diego’s just-announced lineup of touring shows, there’s no place like home. And that’s not just because the biggest “Wizard of Oz”-derived musical on the planet will be clicking its heels for a return trip to town.

Besides that monthlong run of “Wicked” the summer after next, the eight-show Broadway/San Diego slate for 2011-12 is headlined by “Memphis,” a show that’s coming full circle to its local roots. The Broadway production of the 2010 Tony Award-winner for best musical was developed at La Jolla Playhouse in 2008, and directed by the theater’s artistic chief, Christopher Ashley.

Other shows on Broadway/San Diego’s lineup for the downtown Civic Theatre likewise have significant local ties. Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, co-writers of the Playhouse-launched megahit “Jersey Boys” (which continues to run on Broadway and around the world), are represented by “The Addams Family,” a musical that shares its heritage with the cult 1960s TV series.

Broadway/San Diego also is bringing in “Come Fly Away,” the iconic choreographer Twyla Tharp’s most recent “dancical,” based on songs made popular by Frank Sinatra. Tharp’s previous project was “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” the ambitious, Bob Dylan-inspired piece that premiered at the Old Globe Theatre in 2006, but subsequently tanked on Broadway.

“I think homecoming is a great description for our 35th season,” says Joe Kobryner, vice president of The Nederlander Organization, Broadway/San Diego’s parent company. “We’re always thrilled when a show comes home like ‘Memphis.’

There’s been a history of that, starting with (the Old Globe-developed) ‘Damn Yankees’ and ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,’ and shows that began in La Jolla. San Diego has played such an important role in the development of the new Broadway in the last two-plus decades.”

The Playhouse’s Ashley, noting that the “Memphis” tour starts in its namesake Tennessee city this fall, says that the musical “has to premiere in Memphis. It’s a natural. But when it comes to San Diego, the show will have come home.”

The other productions scheduled to come through town are a mix of the new and the tried-and-true, from the perennially popular warhorse “Cats” to the family-minded “Mary Poppins,” and from the glitter-rock sounds of “Rock of Ages” to the mind-boggling sights of Blue Man Group.

Of the eight shows, two (“Wicked” and “Cats”) are “extra-season,” non-subscription offerings.

One element notably missing from the season: any shows scheduled for the Balboa Theatre, which (like the Civic) the nonprofit San Diego Theatres Inc. runs for the city.

Since the historic 1924 Balboa was restored and reopened in January 2008, Broadway/San Diego has presented one or two of its shows there per season (including the upcoming “Stomp” and “Next to Normal,” both part of the 2010-11 lineup).

Because of the touring shows’ timing and availability, Kobryner said, none of those selected for 2011-12 could fit “physically or fiscally” into the Balboa. “In this case, we went with some really strong titles, and they happen to be shows that need (the Civic’s) capacity.”

Here, a look at season dates and details:

“Mary Poppins,” Aug. 10-28, 2011: The show, based on the ageless movie (and books) and brought to you by Disney and big-spectacle producer Cameron Mackintosh, gets the longest run of any regular-season show. It’s also the one most likely to appeal to families with young children.

Blue Man Group, dates TBA: This is the first theatrical tour for the performance group, which blends rock music, eye-popping visuals and a highly physical performance style. (Plus the namesake blue body paint.)

“Come Fly Away,” Nov. 8-13, 2011: Tharp’s show met with a mixed reception on Broadway but ran for a good chunk of 2010 and earned two Tony nominations. It features such classic Sinatra songs as “Fly Me to the Moon” and “That’s Life.”

“Rock of Ages,” March 27 to April 1, 2012: The gleefully satirical show celebrating the “hair bands” of the ’80s continues to run on Broadway and earned five Tony noms in 2009 (including best musical).

“The Addams Family,” May 29 to June 3, 2012: The still-running Broadway show is based on the original work of cartoonist Charles Addams rather than on the ’60s TV series. Producer Stuart Oken says the musical’s creative team is working on some tweaks to the score and staging for the tour. “It’s the 2.0 version,” Oken says. “There are just some things we think we can do better.”

“Memphis,” July 24-29, 2012: The Playhouse-bred musical started slowly on Broadway, but wound up the big winner at last summer’s Tonys. Its story is inspired by the real-life tale of an obscure ’50s DJ who helped bring rhythm and blues to the white-dominated airwaves. “I think that the San Diego audiences who haven’t seen the show since it premiered at the Playhouse will be amazed at how the show has evolved,” says director Ashley, adding that it “will still feel like a show that explodes with song and dance.”

Extra-season events:

“Cats,” Jan. 10-15, 2012: Whether it inspires you to purr or causes your fur to stand on end, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical (based on writings by the poet T.S. Eliot) just keeps coming back for more. Actor Louie Napoleon, who plays Skimbleshanks on tour, insists those who’ve only heard about the show (and maybe not heard all the best things) might find it “almost a transcendental experience.”

“Wicked,” June 20 to July 15, 2012: Still a Broadway phenomenon after seven-plus years, the musical (based on Gregory Maguire’s “prequels” to the Oz tales) makes its third visit to San Diego. The first two have sold very quickly, so this one should be a hot ticket once again.

For now, tickets to these shows are only available by season subscription. Details: (619) 570-1100, or broadwaysd.com